By AMANDA FAITH THOMPSON
Due to the unfair treatment I had witnessed toward my children’s charter school by the Anchorage School Board and my recent job displacement that seemed entirely like a publicity stunt, I resolved to attend Saturday’s legislative town hall at University of Alaska . As I turned the corner to enter the Cuddy Center, I encountered a barricade.
The Anchorage Education Association, an affiliate of the NEA, had organized a protest group that made entry to the town hall impossible unless you crossed far behind their red-shirted, borg-like lineup or directly in front of their barricade. I asked ASD School Board members Kelly Lessens and Carl Jacobs, who were part of the protest, to move aside so we could pass through.
I somehow made it past the megaphone that Region VI Director AEA President Corey Aist was blasting and went to sign up to testify. A few conservative teachers had taken time out of their Saturday to show up, and we sat together in a sea of NEA-compliant red shirts. We had all personally experienced ASD making unwise and financially unsound decisions with the district’s nearly $1 billion budget, to the detriment of our students and the disbelief of our colleagues. We discovered the following:
- ASD needs accountability in its spending choices. Did you receive the slew of “rightsizing” or “Academies of Anchorage” emails, only to see the ASD Board vote against their own rightsizing recommendations and Academies planning? We did, and it left us dumbfounded. Did they just waste a $5 million grant? What was their Plan B? Regarding school closures, had they no other source of income on the books to support keeping schools with low enrollment open? I’ve attended the last four months of School Board meetings and work sessions, which showed me they had no plans for improving dismal student test scores and absenteeism or for expanding career choices for students.
- The Permanent Fund dividend should not be the piggy bank for unaccountable spending. Many of our students’ families depend on these funds to pay for things they cannot otherwise afford. I personally could not have attended college without a statutory PFD. There is no specific fiscal note on HB 69; they haven’t explicitly stated how they are paying for it. Trust me, they are coming after poor families’ PFDs.
- NEA is in charge of Anchorage education and acts like a bully. I’m not saying individuals within the group are bullies; I’m saying the way they act as a whole is bullying. As a fellow teacher testified, I felt a disconnect in people’s thinking. NEA rally folks called for more education funding but did not demand accountability in its spending. They couldn’t see that they were just being used as puppets for a district and union that was lousy at budgeting.
- The majority of people testifying parroted back union propaganda.
I receive emails in my work email asking me to attend their union events. At new hire orientation, we are not presented with alternatives. Since de-enrolling from the union and joining another advocacy group, I’ve saved thousands of dollars, gained support, and cleared my conscience.
We were shocked to see so many people testify exactly according to NEA Alaska’s talking points, as if all reason had flown out the window. One man kept repeating how he longed to have himself and everyone taxed. Government does some things well, like arresting mass murderers, but it is pretty lousy at addressing issues like homelessness or education without accountability. Have you driven by the Inlet View School construction site? At the very moment when ASD needs to be refining its spending and building use, they are constructing a huge school downtown next to a usable old school that voters rejected rebuilding several times. How many homeless villages in our beloved parks can you point out?
I was also surprised to see so many fellow displaced colleagues I recognized who were wearing NEA red. They didn’t seem to make the connection that the union they pay $1,200+ per year to actually worsens their plight. NEA roars for a 15% pay raise across the board for one year. Where is that money coming from? ASD has already announced that elementary classes will have over 30-40 students per classroom at some schools. They have to increase class sizes if the union secures a pay raise. They guilt-trip legislators, like an abusive boyfriend guilt-tripping his girlfriend’s family. Unions demand things that aren’t funded and then rally folks to come enmasse to decry their self-proclaimed budget. I can’t budget like this as a single mom; I have to count my incoming income first.
For everyone who stayed home this April election just because Trump wasn’t on the ballot or felt hopeless, I ask you to consider writing your Republican legislators (look them up at Akleg.gov). Tell them that you support accountability in education and oppose using our PFDs to fund it.
This recent school board election is lost, but we still have legislators who can stand firm with the governor’s initiatives for accountability in school funding. It’s up to you to act.
Amanda Thompson is an Anchorage educator.
Thank you, Amanda.
You’re welcome. Teaching is my life-long vocation and I write because I don’t want to see my students be used for political games.
One year while walking my dog in a local park I found a young boy playing by himself. I was keeping to myself but he approached me. He started the conversation by say: “Do you know why my pants have holes in them?” I hadn’t noticed and said no I hadn’t notice. He then said to me: “My parents are teachers and they aren’t paid enough.” I couldn’t believe my ears! I felt so sorry for this young lad whose parents were using him to make more money. Since then I’ve watched the teachers and their unions use every trick in the book to get more money. And despite my no votes or conversations with local lawmakers our leaders continue to give teachers what they ask for. And our community is dying. My business constantly hears from people who are turning down job opportunities because they don’t want their children in our failing schools. Until the PFD runs dry and out city is burning nothing will change. Giving into the teachers’ union time and time again is not working. It’s insanity.
Well done Amanda and a shout out to the conservative teachers that sat with you!!!
Thank you. They were brave moms!
People who don’t pay property taxes love to spend other people’s money. Nice job Anchorage.
Well done Amanda!! Very revealing.
What’s the point of town hall meetings? Only 16.5 % of the Anchorage residents vote. The should just have a dictator, the masses wouldn’t notice.
Andrew,
Your point is well taken, allow me to add to that the 16.5% also represents about the percentage of parents who take an active part in their children’s education status. Of the remaining 83.5,% do they question? Do they attend school functions to witness the quality of education? Do they talk with their children on a daily basis about school today?. I would wager that the easy way out for these 83.5 % parents are allowing the schools to raise their children is rampant, with the school board takes advantage of this unintentional parental ignorance.
Cheers, Johnson-Ketchikan
Some people think unions are nothing more than communist organizations pretending to be worker solidarity fronts. But teachers unions, like NEA and AEA, are slave ships with their chained members relegated to rowing the boat. Sad bunch indeed! Those slaves in the ships can only hope their masters unchain them when the ship starts to sink.